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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29305695">Countdown</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElvishPotterhead/pseuds/ElvishPotterhead'>ElvishPotterhead</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Collection of Short Stories [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Gen, Plane Crash, TiMER AU, everyone has a clock that counts down to their death, really sad but with a semi-happy ending, there might be a part 2 but I doubt it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:01:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>863</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29305695</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElvishPotterhead/pseuds/ElvishPotterhead</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone has a clock on their wrist that counts down to their death, and sixteen year old Alexa still has seventy years to go. Or, she did.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Collection of Short Stories [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2152455</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Countdown</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Countdown<br/>Written by me<br/>12/12/19<br/>Includes: death, pain, sadness, timer au, happy ending</p><p>It was soothing, my timer. I liked seeing what was to come. I liked being in control. I enjoyed watching it tick. Watching it count down to my death.<br/>It was a gruesome thought, but my clock read seventy years, I had nothing to be afraid of. Seventy years, two hundred and thirty days, fifty-six minutes, and twenty-seven seconds.<br/>I was going to see my grandparents in New York City. I was going to fly there and stay for two weeks. My parents and younger sister would stay behind.<br/>I was actually surprised I was allowed to go. I was a short sixteen year old girl with breathing trouble and terrible eyesight. They were usually extremely protective of me.<br/>I went through all the bag things, nobody really told me what they did, then I stood right by the walkway to the plane. My sister waved next to my parents.<br/>"See you soon, Alexa!" She called.<br/>"Bye bye, Hailey!" I grinned. I waved to my parents and stepped out. I quickly got onto the plane and found my seat. It would take a while to get there, so I leaned back into the seat and sighed. Something rugged at my gut and I looked back through the windows of the airport. Hailey was still waving. I waved back, even though she couldn't see me.<br/>The pilots spoke a bit over the speaker and an attendant cane around to check out seatbelts. Then the plane lurched forward and we went rolling down the runway. Then suddenly we were in the air. I watched Hailey disappear.<br/>-<br/>I was in the middle of a book when I felt a tingle in my wrist where my timer was. I didn't think much of it then, just figured it was the air pressure or something. Then someone gasped. Then someone screamed.<br/>And screams filled the plane like sirens. People stood up, grabbing the attendant by the collar and demanding the plane land immediately.<br/>I looked down at my wrist, a bit scared.<br/>00 00 19 43<br/>I had less than twenty minutes to live.<br/>Fear gripped my chest and tears pricked my eyes as my last sight of Hailey danced before my eyes.<br/>I caught a glimpse of other timers in the midst of the uproar. They all read the same thing. We were all going to die in less than twenty minutes.<br/>I took out my phone. I was going to call my mom. I typed in the number but only got static. I tried again. And again.<br/>"Hello?"<br/>"Mom! Something's about to happen!"<br/>"What? Dear, you need to calm down."<br/>"I only have seventeen minutes left Mom. I don't know what's going to happen. Everyone's panicking."<br/>I heard her breath catch.<br/>"Mom I love you so much. Tell Dad and Hailey that I love them. Tell Hailey that if she touches my computer, I'll strangle her."<br/>Mom didn't laugh. Neither did I.<br/>"Baby, I love you so much." Mom said. She was crying.<br/>"Don't hang up, Mom."<br/>"I won't."<br/>She sobbed and began talking. Her voice had always been soothing to me. She told me stories about grandpa and read me poems she wrote as a kid. At some point she put me on speaker so I could hear everyone one last time. I think I was crying. I couldn't really tell.<br/>Eight minutes.<br/>"I love you so much." I whispered. My stomach tugged and I choked on air. Around me people were crying, clutching children close and kneeling with their hands clasped together. People begged God to save us, to please let us live. I didn't know if I believed in God. No god was going to change our fate.<br/>"Don't be afraid, baby. It'll be okay." Mom told me, still crying. I didn't know how reassuring that was when she didn't seem to believe it herself.<br/>Five minutes.<br/>The plane began to lose altitude. The screaming got louder and I finally allowed myself to cry.<br/>"Mama! I don't want to die!" I cried into the phone. Hailey was crying. Mom must have turned on speaker.<br/>"Please, Lord." Dad was saying. He had never believed either, he must have really gotten desperate. He made a bunch of promises in exchange for my life. Mom just said that she loved me over and over.<br/>Two minutes.<br/>The ground was in sight. I could already feel my body tense, bracing for impact.<br/>"I love you guys so much!" I cried.<br/>A loud crash.<br/>Then nothing.<br/>-<br/>I couldn't feel my body. Everything hurt. I couldn't even open my eyes.<br/>Was I alive?<br/>No.<br/>My timer stopped.<br/>Did it reach zero?<br/>No.<br/>That much I could tell. I squinted, my eyesight blurry. A person laid on top of me. My timer was not at zero. There was number there.<br/>Sirens blared and people screamed around us. I knew a lot of people had died. My phone was shattered, people were grabbing my arms and pulling me up.<br/>But I didn't know what to think anymore.<br/>I still had five seconds left.</p><p>12/12/19</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this when I was supposed to be doing homework as a spur of the moment story. I got the idea from a prompt on Pinterest and it ate away at me until I gave in and allowed it ten minutes to expand. I had actually planned to let Alexa die, but I have more planned for her in the future. I don't know if this story will continue, but feel free to use you imagination. I might write a part two at some point when I have time.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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